Bartell Drugs and Evergreen Hospital Medical Center are bringing the Evergreen Mobile Mammography Coach to neighborhood Bartell Drugs stores this fall. The coach, equipped to provide the same digital mammograms women receive in hospital and clinic settings, will be open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Kirkland-area dates and locations are: Sept. 23 at Kingsgate, 14442 124th Ave. N.E.; and Sept. 24 at Houghton, 10625 N.E. 68th St.

Walk-ins will be welcomed, or appointments may be made by calling 425-899-2831 or going to www.evergreenhospital.org/mammography. Women need to bring picture identification and a current insurance card. Mammograms usually take about 20 minutes from registration to farewell.

Each mammography patient will receive the Bartell Drugs Flu Shop Coupon Book with coupons valued at $140.

Evergreen Hospital endorses the American Cancer Society breast health guidelines, which recommend a baseline (first) mammogram by age 40 and annual mammograms thereafter. Screening mammograms are appropriate for women who are not experiencing any symptoms such as a palpable lump or pain or who are being followed because of a previous finding.

Breast cancer, which affects one in eight women, is the most common cancer among Americans after skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death for women. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 200,000 cases of invasive breast cancer and more than 50,000 cases of breast carcinoma will be diagnosed this year. About 40,000 women will die from breast cancer in 2010. The key to survival is early detection: there are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.